Pressure piles up on under-the-cosh Cheika

Australia head to Italy with coach Michael Cheika under renewed pressure after their bid for a perfect tour of Europe ended at the first hurdle with a dismal loss to Wales.

Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle had said nothing less than three wins against the Welsh, Italy and England could be deemed a “pass mark” for the Wallabies, who managed only two victories in the Rugby Championship and lost a series against Ireland on home soil for the first time in 39 years.

Yet their performance at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday inspired little confidence back home that they could manage a win against lowly Italy, let alone Eddie Jones’s England, with the clock ticking towards the 2019 World Cup.

Having already been dragged over the coals twice by the media after back-to-back losses against New Zealand and a maiden home defeat by Argentina, Cheika and his staff faced a fresh round of criticism from Australian pundits on Monday.

The Australian’s rugby writer Wayne Smith wrote that the performance “was so lame and tired that Rugby Australia CEO Raelene Castle will be forced to make changes post-tour.

“The Wallabies can’t continue through to the World Cup while being so poorly coached.”

In a season littered with negative statistics, the Wallabies collected another in Cardiff by surrendering their winning streak of 13 matches against Warren Gatland’s Wales.

Perhaps most gallingly for home fans was that their team threw away their chances in the 9-6 defeat.

Awarded two second-half penalties, captain Michael Hooper waved away both shots on goal but the push for tries came to nothing, with prop Allan Alaalatoa spilling the ball in a maul and Tolu Latu overcooking a lineout throw to lose possession.

“This Test was turgid and forgettable, as the playing standards were so low, but it was an international an average Wallabies lineup would have won, as there were countless second-half chances,” rugby pundit Greg Growden fumed on ESPN’s website. –